Mike Tomlin is excited to bring the NFL to Ireland this September. Releasing a statement following the league’s announcement that the Pittsburgh Steelers will host the Minnesota Vikings Sept. 28 in Dublin, Tomlin explained what the game will mean to him and the Steelers’ organization.
“It is an honor and a privilege to represent the game of American football internationally and maybe introduce it to a new set of fans,” Tomlin said Tuesday in video shared by the Steelers’ YouTube channel. “It is a great honor to play the game we love and be able to do so on foreign soil.”
This year’s contest will be Pittsburgh’s first international game since 2013, a London matchup that also occurred against the Vikings. The Steelers will look for better fortunes this team around, losing the previous matchup 34-27.
Pittsburgh played in Ireland once before, hosting a 1997 preseason game against the Chicago Bears. But this year will mark the NFL’s first regular-season game as part of Roger Goodell’s global expansion of the game, a defining aspect of his legacy as commissioner.
The Steelers becoming the host team is no surprise and an appropriate selection. The Rooneys are Irish and there’s no better franchise to usher in a new era than Pittsburgh.
“I smile when I think about the late great Ambassador [Dan] Rooney and how fired up he would be about this game,” Tomlin said. “I remember when he was Ambassador to Ireland he would have a Fourth of July flag football game each year. And so I think about him.”
Rooney served as U.S. Ambassador to Ireland from 2009-2012, becoming the first in his role to visit all 32 Irish counties.
For a team with as much international appeal as Pittsburgh, going more than a decade without an international game is surprising. Circumstances did get in the way. The Steelers likely would’ve played a game in Mexico City had the host stadium not undergone renovation and it’s believed to either be preferred by Art Rooney II or required by Acrisure Stadium’s lease to play eight home games in Pittsburgh each year, making it more difficult to schedule internationally (the Steelers have nine total home games in 2025, allowing them to play one overseas and still have eight in Pittsburgh proper).
It’s doubtful Pittsburgh will have to wait another decade for its next international game. The NFL’s goal is for each team to play at least one international game per season and given the franchise’s strong draw in places like Brazil and Mexico, either country could be the Steelers’ next stop. It’s also a safe bet the Ireland game is a massive success, meaning Pittsburgh could play there again in the near future.
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